The present invention relates to a vehicle seat with an airbag module arranged in its interior and covered by an upholstery cover. The airbag module includes an airbag which upon actuation is inflated with the effective filling pressure and upon filling penetrates to the exterior through an opening within the upholstery cover of the vehicle seat whereby the airbag module at the exit side for the airbag comprises a cover that is provided with a rated break line.
A vehicle seat with an integrated lateral airbag with the aforementioned features is known from German Gebrauchsmuster 296 01 257. As disclosed in this prior art document, for such a lateral airbag there exists the problem that for the formation of the unfolding opening within the upholstery cover of the vehicle seat special measures must be taken at the exterior of the seat, especially at the exterior side of the upholstery cover. For this reason it is suggested in the cited prior art solution to provide a separating means within the vehicle seat which acts mechanically and is activated by the filling pressure during inflation of the airbag in order to thus produce the unfolding opening within the upholstery cover. This solution has the disadvantage that the additional means for separating requires additional expenditures with respect to manufacture and mounting, but also results in a weak point of the construction with respect to reliability because, when this separating means does not operate properly, a quick inflation of the airbag and penetration through the closed upholstery cover is questionable. Furthermore, injuries to the person to be protected within the seat as well as damage to the airbag can not be prevented.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle seat of the aforementioned kind, including an unfolding opening within the upholstery cover that is easy to mount, is functionally reliable, and visually pleasing.